Electronic entertainment and other media devices, such as televisions and video cassette recorders (VCRs) have become standard appliances in the home and work environment. Another electronic media device which is becoming a norm in the home and work environment is the computer. Computers have come to be a standard tool in facilitating communication and processing data in many environments. In some home environments, the occupants own from one to three computers and own from one to four televisions. Computers are typically located in a home office or a study room of the home. However, televisions are typically located in areas of the home where guests or family members congregate. In many home environments, it is not often that television sets and computers are located in the same room because of space limitations and because it is not economically practical to provide both televisions and computers in each room where either of the devices could possibly be used. For these reasons, these devices are usually distributed in the different rooms of the home where they are most likely to be used.
In office environments, computers are located at the desk or work station of employees. However, televisions or video monitors are used or maintained in conference rooms. Conference rooms typically do not have dedicated computers, and employee workstations typically do not have televisions. Given the economic and space considerations of providing computers and televisions within the same room, users of these media devices have been limited to using the functions of one device in a dedicated room. Thus, there is a need for a method and system that enables users to more conveniently view or have access to a desired media type in various rooms without the necessity of providing a distinct physical unit for each media type in a given room.
Just as computers have become the norm, certain methods of interacting with computers have become "somewhat" the norm. Typically, when a user desires to have a function implemented on a computer, the user inputs commands through a keyboard and/or a separate pointer/selection device. The alphanumeric keyboard is used primarily to input text information into a computer system. The position at which text is entered may be indicated by a blinking character generally termed a cursor. The cursor position can be moved or positioned to different places on the computer screen by "arrow" direction buttons located on the keyboard. This method of moving the cursor to different positions on the screen is cumbersome and slow because only one of four direction buttons can be selected at a single instance and the position of the cursor can only be moved in vertical and horizontal directions. A more widely used pointer/selection control device is termed a mouse. With a mouse, the cursor position can be moved in any direction by moving a pointer/arrow on the display screen and then depressing a button on the mouse, sometimes referred to as "clicking" to activate a function associated with the position of the pointer.
A typical mouse includes a casing with a flat bottom and a rounded upper shell that is designed to be gripped by a user's hand. On the upper shell, one or more buttons may be found that are selection control buttons. On the bottom of the mouse, there is an exposed ball that is free to rotate about any axis. Pushing the mouse across a desktop surface causes the ball to rotate and this movement is converted into electrical direction signals. A cable usually extends from the mouse to couple the directional signals to a computer system which uses the signals to control a cursor.
The mouse is a relative pointing device because there are no defined limits to the mouse's movement and because the mouse's placement on a surface does not map directly to a specific screen location. When a user desires to select items or choose commands on the screen, a user presses a selection control button to select the item or choose a command. While the mouse has served as a very useful tool for controlling an on-screen cursor and selecting options displayed on a computer screen, the mouse has some drawbacks. When moving the mouse on a desktop, the cable of the mouse often extends across a portion of the desktop and interferes with paperwork, pencils or other materials that are on the desk. Additionally, a certain amount of level desktop space must be dedicated so that the mouse can be moved around to direct the pointer on the display screen. Due to the level desk space that must be dedicated to a mouse, the mouse cannot be easily used in environment where level space is not available or where the environment is unstable such as in an airplane.
Other pointer/cursor control devices have been used in different type computer systems. Particularly, in a portable computer systems, touch pads are often used. The touch pad typically uses sensors to convert finger movement across the surface of the touch pad to directional signals that are used to cursor movement. A touch pad is typically located on a dedicated surface area of a keyboard or coupled to a computer to facilitate movement of the pad.
Another type pointer control device is a track ball device. This device partially encloses a ball within a housing so the upper surface of the ball is exposed. Like the mouse, rotation of the ball is converted to electrical directional signals that are used by the computer to guide a cursor. A track ball also has selection control buttons, typically located adjacent the exposed ball, for selecting an object displayed on the screen. Track ball devices may be provided as a unit external to the keyboard or mounted in proximity of a keyboard especially in lap top computers. Consequently, a track ball device occupies either an amount of desk space or a portion of the keyboard space.
Although various types of pointer control mechanisms are in use, there are drawbacks to each of these devices. One of the primary drawbacks of the devices is that they require a considerable amount of space to be available on a person's desktop, working area or keypad in order to use the device and many of these devices are bulky. Given the space requirements for these devices, these type pointer control mechanisms are not practical in environments where space is limited. Thus, there is a need in the art for a device that can be used in conjunction with the basic keyboard structure without requiring a designated area of the keyboard or desk space to be utilized only for that pointer control mechanism.
The problems associated with existing cursor control mechanisms for computer systems are exacerbated when considered for use with technology convergence appliances. For example, technology convergence is expected to permit cable television systems to provide Internet access as well as cable television programming through a television set. Control of a television is typically achieved with a remote control device having numeric keys, four directional buttons, and some function control keys. Because technology convergence may include text input and cursor control, a user may be required to use a remote control, a keyboard, and a cursor control device. Coordination of these devices and their mobility in an area where the television is used would likely be difficult. Consequently, there is a need in the art for a control device that can be effectively and efficiently used to control operations of a technology convergence appliance.